Geochemistry of dissolved and particulate elements in the major rivers of China (The Huanghe,Changjiang, and Zhunjiang rivers)

The relationship between the geochemistry of dissolved and particulate materials and geographic conditions was investigated. Samples of water and suspended particulate matter were collected from five locations in three of the major rivers of China (the Huanghe, Changjiang, and Zhunjiang rivers). Because these rivers generally flow parallel to latitudes and flow through diverse geologic and climate zones, they provide excellent opportunities for comparisons of solute transport. The geochemistry of these rivers is influenced strongly by climate. The low discharge of the Huanghe River influences the character of the major ionic materials (Cl^?+SO₄ ^2? and Na⁺+K⁺) as well as the high degree of mineralization within the system. Dissolved concentrations of both major ions and trace elements are lower in the southern reaches of the rivers. The highly mobile ions, such as, Na⁺ and Ca²⁺, are depleted from the suspended particulate material in the southern regions, while the relatively immobile ions of Al, Fe, Ti, Mn, and trace metals are concentrated within the suspended mateiral. The relative mobility of some elements as measured by the Dissolved Transport Index (DTI) changes with climate. The geology of the area drained by the rivers has a major influence on the geochemistry in areas of similar climate. Lowest leaching rates in the southern climates occur in areas dominated by granite, which is resistant to weathering. The composition of both cations and anions among the three tributaries of the Zhujiang River are dependent on the rocks that dominate each eregion. Some particulate forms of the rare earth elements are present in the highest concentrations in regions dominated by granite. The DTI calculated for the major rivers in China are much smaller than those computed for other major rivers of the world. The low concentration of heavy metals in the particulate material suggests that pollution in the rivers of China is less serious than in rivers of other industrialized countries.     

Physical,chemical, and biological conditions associated with the early stages of the Lake Michigan vernal thermal front

An investigation of the thermal front in southeastern Lake Michigan during April 1988 revealed a dynamic physical, chemical, and biological environment. The front was observed approximately 4 km from the coast as a distinct gradient separating cold open-lake waters from warmer nearshore waters. Surface isotherms near the front were generally parallel to one another but skewed with respect to shore. Comparison between April 22 and 29 showed that the surface isothern pattern was modulated by wind stress. The pattern from April 29 showed signs of flow instabilities with horizontal scales of 1 km to 5 km. Surface drifter trajectories provided estimates of horizontal convergence at the fron which varied from 7×10^?6 s^?1 to 20×10^?6 s^?1. Inferred rates of downwelling, which ranged from 9.5 m d^?1 to 20.7 m d^?1, were sufficient to move a water parcel from the surface to the bottom in 2 to 6 d at the front. Convergent circulation was observed on both sampling dates despite contrasts in wind stress. Concentrations of chloride, soluble silica, and chlorophyll, which were always higher inshore, were 5% to 82% larger than offshore mean values. The aquatic environment just inshore of the thermal front was characterized by chlorphyll concentrations which exceeded 5.0 μg 1^?1 while concentrations offshore were between 1.0 μg 1^?1 and 2.0 μg 1^?1. A relatively uniform vertical structure in chlorophyll concentrations in the frontal zone was consistent with the observed convergence and inferred downwelling near the front.     

Available potential energy in the atmosphere

Summary The study of available potential energy is approached in a new way. According to the second law of thermodynamics, we may find, from among the states which can be attained through all the actual processes in an isolated atmosphere, the limit state, referred to as the lowest state, that is achieved by means of reversible processes and possesses the least total potential energy. Thus, the maximum available potential energy can be estimated by taking the lowest state as the reference state. The variations of the lowest state and maximum available potential energy with baroclinity and mean static stability are illustrated graphically as some examples in the text. This study gives a more fundamental understanding for the kinetic energy generation in the baroclinic atmosphere. Also, the extreme kinetic generation in irreversible processes is investigated. The obtained results may be adopted for the energetics of explosive systems in the atmosphere.With 10 Figures     

The effect of topography on the determination of the geoid using analytical downward continuation

The method of analytical downward continuation has been used for solving Molodensky’s problem. This method can also be used to reduce the surface free air anomaly to the ellipsoid for the determination of the coefficients of the spherical harmonic expansion of the geopotential. In the reduction of airborne or satellite gradiometry data, if the sea level is chosen as reference surface, we will encounter the problem of the analytical downward continuation of the disturbing potential into the earth, too. The goal of this paper is to find out the topographic effect of solving Stoke’sboundary value problem (determination of the geoid) by using the method of analytical downward continuation. It is shown that the disturbing potential obtained by using the analytical downward continuation is different from the true disturbing potential on the sea level mostly by a −2πGρh 2/p. This correction is important and it is very easy to compute and add to the final results. A terrain effect (effect of the topography from the Bouguer plate) is found to be much smaller than the correction of the Bouguer plate and can be neglected in most cases. It is also shown that the geoid determined by using the Helmert’s second condensation (including the indirect effect) and using the analytical downward continuation procedure (including the topographic effect) are identical. They are different procedures and may be used in different environments, e.g., the analytical downward continuation procedure is also more convenient for processing the aerial gravity gradient data. A numerical test was completed in a rough mountain area, 35°<ϕ<38°, 240°<λ<243°. A digital height model in 30″×30″ point value was used. The test indicated that the terrain effect in the test area has theRMS value ±0.2−0.3 cm for geoid. The topographic effect on the deflections of the vertical is around1 arc second.     

Chronology of Sanbagawa metamorphism

By collating age data based on the fossil age of the protoliths, radiometric dating of the metamorphic minerals, and sedimentary records of erosion at the earth's surface, the history of the Sanbagawa metamorphism can be summarized as follows. (1) The pre-metamorphic sedimentary rocks (Carboniferous-Jurassic + Early Cretaceous?) became mixed and formed a thickened packet in the vicinity of an ancient trench through a variety of subduction-related tectono-sedimentary processes, probably in Early Cretaceous time (c., 130-120 Ma). (2) The subducted protoliths underwent progressive metamorphism reaching a maximum depth of c. 30 km in late Early Cretaceous time (c. 116 ± 10 Ma). (3) The high-P/T metamorphic rocks began to rise toward the surface (during the interval 110-50 Ma) with minimum estimates for the average cooling rate around 9-12°C/Ma and an average uplift rate around 0.4-0.5 mm/year. (4) Finally, at some stage after reaching the erosional surface, the high-P/T metamorphic rocks were covered unconformably by the middle Eocene (c. 50-42 Ma) Kuma Group. On the basis of the present chronological summary of the Sanbagawa metamorphism, the areal extent of the Sanbagawa metamorphism is also discussed with respect to the weakly metamorphosed subduction-accretion complex of the next tectonic belt to the south, the Northern Chichibu belt.     

ESR assessment of kerogen maturation and its relation with petroleum genesis

Petroleum hydrocarbons are formed by breakdown of kerogen preserved in source rocks throughout the process of catagenesis. This process is accompanied by free radical generation in kerogen. The availability of measuring free radicals in kerogen using ESR to deduce a maturation estimation of potential source rocks has been hindered due to the presence of the solvent-extractable organic molecules (SEOM) trapped within the kerogen matrix. Spin concentration (Ns) of the kerogen treated with pyridine (K_Py) represents the paramagnetic centers of the kerogen matrix itself and provides a potential parameter to evaluate kerogen maturation.     

Residence of trace elements in metasomatized spinel lherzolite xenoliths: a proton-microprobe study

Minerals occurring in dry and modally metasomatized spinel lherzolites from western Victoria have been analysed by proton microprobe for Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Ba, Pb, Br, rare-earth elements (REE), Th and U. Mass-balance calculations demonstrate that these trace elements are contained in specific acceptor minerals and do not occur in significant concentrations at clean grain boundaries. The level of particular trace elements in the rock depends on the presence of specific phases: for example high levels of REE, Sr (and U, Th, Br) require apatite, while Ba, Nb and Ta are strongly concentrated in amphibole±mica. Mantle metasomatism in these spinel lherzolites is inferred to result from an open-system process involving infiltration of fluids released by crystallizing silicate melts. This process produces metasomatic zones with different modal mineralogy and hence greatly different trace-element signatures. The data demonstrate that large-ion-lithophile (LIL) and high-field strength (HFS) elements in metasomatized spinel lherzolites are strongly concentrated in non-refractory phases, which will break down easily in heated volumes such as the walls of magma conduits. The heterogeneity observed in trace-element patterns of intraplate alkali basaltic rocks may not reflect source heterogeneity, but may result largely from contamination by metasomatized mantle wall rock. The K_Ds for most trace elements show little temperature dependence except for K_DSr between orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene where K_D decreases with increasing temperature. The generally uniform K_Ds can be used to test for disequilibrium in such assemblages.     

Metamorphism and granite genesis in the Hidaka Metamorphic Belt, Hokkaido, Japan

The Main Zone of the Hidaka Metamorphic Belt is an uplifted crustal section of island-arc type. The crust was formed during early Tertiary time, as a result of collision between two arc–trench systems of Cretaceous age. The crustal metamorphic sequence is divided into four metamorphic zones (I–IV), in which zone IV is in the granulite facies. A detailed study of the evolution of the Hidaka Belt, based on a revised P–T–t analysis of the metamorphic rocks, notably a newly found staurolite-bearing granulite, confirms a prograde isobaric heating path, after a supposed event of tectonic thickening of accretionary sedimentary and oceanic crustal rocks. During the peak metamorphic event (c. 53 Ma), the regional geothermal gradient attained 33–40° C km^?1, and the highest P–T condition obtained from the lowest part of the granulite unit is 830° C, 7 kbar. In this part, X_H2O of Gt–Opx–Cd gneiss is about 0.15 and that of Gt–Cd–Bt gneiss is 0.4. The P–T–X_H2O condition of the granulite unit is well within a field where fluid-present partial melting of pelitic and greywacke metamorphic rocks takes place. This is in harmony with the restitic nature of the Gt–Opx–Cd gneiss in the lowest part of the granulite unit. The possibility that partial melting took place in the Main Zone is significant for the genesis of the peraluminous (S-type) granitic rocks within it. The S-type granitic rocks in this zone are Opx–Gt–Bt tonalite in the granulite zone, Gt–Cd–Bt tonalite in the amphibolite zone, and Cd–Bt–Mus tonalite in the Bt–Mus gneiss zone. The mineralogical and chemical nature of these strongly peraluminous tonalitic rocks permit them to be regarded as having been derived from S-type granitic magma generated by crustal anatexis of pelitic metamorphic rocks in deeper crust.     

Dynamics of rigid strip foundations embedded in orthotropic elastic soils

This study is concerned with the dynamic response of an arbitrary shaped rigid strip foundation embedded in an orthotropic elastic soil. The foundation is subjected to time-harmonic vertical, horizontal and moment loadings. The boundary-value problem related to an embedded foundation is analysed by using the indirect boundary integral equation method. The kernel functions of the integral equations are displacement and traction Green's functions of an anisotropic elastic half plane. Exact analytical solutions are used for the Green's functions. The boundary integral equation is solved by using numerical techniques. Selected numerical results are presented for the impedances of rectangular and semi-circular rigid strip foundations embedded in four types of anisotropic soils. A discussion on the influence of soil anisotropy and frequency of excitation on the impedances is presented. The versatility of the analysis is demonstrated by considering the through soil interaction between two semi-circular strip foundations.